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Create a budget for the first time

Discover how to create a budget for the first time in WorldShare Acquisitions.

Budgets in WorldShare Acquisitions

Every institution using WorldShare Acquisitions for ordering must create a budget. Budgets allow you to keep track of your library's purchases over a period of time. A budget is a set of funds in the same period. The period is defined by a start date and an end date.

Important notes about budgets

  • You cannot delete a budget once it is created, therefore it is recommended not to create a test budget or test orders. If you do need to create a test budget, please see Considerations for test budgets.
  • If you create a budget by mistake, you can rename funds within a budget or change the dates of a budget.
    • However, orders assigned to this budget will still be encumbered on this budget and only can be disencumbered by invoicing the items.
    • Therefore, again, it is recommended not to create test budgets and orders.
  • If a budget exists, a new budget's start date cannot precede any existing budget's end date.
    • The first budget you create can have any start date, but its end date cannot precede the date you created it.
    • The first budget is automatically enabled for use.
  • A budget can have one of five statuses.
    Status Definition Indicated by
    Closed
    • A closed budget is any budget that you have closed for use.
    • You can have multiple closed budgets.
    • You cannot use a closed budget to assign funds to items on an order or invoice.
    • No Enable for use check box.
    • All funds are disabled (you cannot add, edit, or delete funds).
    Closing
    • A closing budget is a budget that is in the process of closing.
    • Closing a budget can take as little as a few minutes or as much as several hours.
    • It is recommended to close budgets during off-hours whenever possible.
    • Not indicated in the user interface.
    Current
    • The current budget is the default budget to be used when assigning funds to items on an order or invoice.
    • There is only one current budget, and it is always the budget immediately following the last closed budget.
    • If there are no closed budgets, then the first budget created is the current budget.
    • The Enable for use check box is checked but disabled for editing.
    Bookable
    • The bookable budget is the budget immediately following the current budget and can be enabled or disabled for use.
    • If enabled for use, it shows up second in the list of budgets available for selection during the order and invoice processes.
    • The Enable for use check box is checked but disabled for editing.
    Future
    • A future budget is any budget that occurs after the bookable budget.
    • All funds are enabled (you can add, edit, or delete funds).
    • The Enable for use check box is available. 
  • Closing budgets. A budget can be closed only after its end date has passed. A closed budget cannot be enabled for use.
  • When you have created funds, a summary of the budget appears at the top of the budget you are viewing. The total amount budgeted, the amount encumbered, the amount expended, and the remaining balance are displayed in a list and pie chart.
    Pie chart color Amount budgeted
    Dark Orange Expended
    Light Orange Encumbered
    Green Remaining

Create a budget for the first time

This workflow describes the steps to take when setting up a budget for the very first time, in addition to important facts to keep in mind when creating your budget.

Step 1: Decide when you want to start using WorldShare Acquisitions for ordering

The first thing you must do before you begin to create your budget is to decide when you want to starting using WorldShare Acquisitions for ordering. Specifically, do you want to start at the beginning of the next fiscal period, or do you want to start part of the way through the current fiscal period? There is some added complexity when starting a budget in the middle of a fiscal period (noted below), but if you choose to start at the beginning of the next fiscal period, you will likely have to duplicate your effort by receiving items previously ordered in your old acquisitions system while adding newly ordered item records in WMS.

Step 2: Create a budget

Once you have decided when to start using WorldShare Acquisitions for ordering, you can create your budget.

  1. On the left panel, click Budgets.
  2. Click New Budget.

Step 3: Enter the start and end date

On the budget you created, enter the start date and end date of the budget period. You can do this by setting the start date and selecting the appropriate time period (typically one year).

If you are creating a budget for the next fiscal period:

  1. Enter the Start Date and select the budget period (6 months, 1 year, or 2 years). The End Date for the fiscal period will then be automatically populated.

If you are creating a budget for the current fiscal period, you have two options:

  • Set the Start Date to today's date or any date on which you want to begin using Acquisitions and manually adjust the End Date to match the current fiscal period's end date after creating the budget, or
  • Set the Start Date to the date the fiscal period actually began (in the past) and set the Period to the appropriate value.

Step 4: Create funds

See Create funds.

 Note: As soon as you create the first fund, your budget will be immediately enabled for use.